Yes, Holly (Beth Wood) and Jolly (Liz Conway) are back again. This time in Cleveland Public Theatre’s world premiere of” The Loush Sisters Get Hard for the Holidays.”
Having consumed only some mulled apple cider made me one of the few sober people among the massive crowd of “Yippie-Kai-Yay Mother-Loushers” who obviously arrived early and had consumed a fair amount of wine and beer (no hard liquor is sold) before the show started.
They continued to imbibe as the girls told smutty stories, sang songs with lots of double-entendres, bragged about their sexual conquests, made comments about theirs and everyone else’s genitalia, and went on an adventure to counter the deeds of Krampus and Karla, the evil villains of this year’s Christmas tale.
As the program reminds, the duo has been around since 2003. They are poster children for what it’s like to look at life under a haze of alcohol. Yes, they have substance abuse problems. And yes, they are not politically correct. What they are is very, very funny, especially when they are singing their songs, telling their jokes and reminiscing about their past experiences while reminding us that they are “just tramps from the Near West Side of CLE.”
They make references to present day goings on including choice comments about Matt Lauer, Donald Trump, and Louie K, encouraging “lock them up, lock them up, lock them up!”.
They sing pop songs, not always with the words we all know and love, including “Wing and A Prayer,” “Moving on Up,” “Our Way,” “Jingle Bells,” “We Need a Little Christmas,” “Forget Your Troubles,” “Happy Days,” “Clang, Clang, Clang Goes the Trolley” and their theme song, “That’s Why the Woman is a Tramp.”
The girls are less humorous when they are acting out the plot of a meaningless “story” line, supposedly a take-off on the ‘80s film, “Die Hard.” No sense in writing a recap of the tale…no one is there for the plot…they are there to laugh at the not-for-prime-time material, often yelling comments to and about the girls. (Depends on the night as to how raucous it gets.)
Multi-comments are made about Ambiance, “the Store for Lovers,” one of the show’s sponsors, who are “The home of Santa’s Naughty Sack” and appear to supply costumes and props for the show.
Sheffia Randall Dooley (sister, Butter Rum Loush) brings down the house as she gospel rocks her way through “Santa Baby” and other ditties.
The Minions (Ryan Edlinger, Brian O. Jackson, Colleen McCaughey and Hillary Wheelock), are excellent. Pianist Buck McDaniel provides not only the music, but some great ad libs from his hiding place behind the high-backed piano. Brian Pedaci and Jennifer Woda try valiantly to create humor as Krampus and Karla, but the mood and script are against them.
The show runs two hours, with intermission.
Capsule judgement: The Loush Sisters encourage the audience to “celebrate the love for friends and family, to sit back, relax and have an adult beverage and enjoy the crazy ride.” Don’t go to this holiday show expecting great theater or a religious experience. Go, enjoy the uninhibited rantings of two boozed-up broads who are having a hell of good time. The drunker you are, the better you’ll appreciate what’s going on. (Be sure to book the Uber in advance.)
“The Loush Sisters Get Hard for the Holidays” runs through December 23 at Cleveland Public Theatre. For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org.
